Get Behind The Scenes Of THE MONKEY KING With Donnie Yen Going Apeshit

In Cheang Pou Soi's upcoming fantasy epic The Monkey King (aka in US as The Monkey King: The Legend Begins), lead actor/action director Donnie Yen not only underwent prosthetic makeup but he fully immerse himself into an ape-like character as the mythical folk hero, Sun Wukong. The latest featurette via Yen's facebook provide an inside look on the process of his physical transformation as well as his performance to capture the behavior & movement of a primate.

Based on the first seven chapters of Wu Cheng'en's classical novel Journey to the West, this film version tells the origin story of the Monkey King and his path to redemption under a backdrop of a battle between heaven and hell. The cast include Chow Yun Fat as the Jade Emperor, Aaron Kwok as the Bull Demon King, Kelly Chen, Gigi Leung, Eilin Zhang, Joe Chen, Peter Ho, Xia Zi Tong and Carlson Cheng.

It will arrive in both 2D & 3D formats in China theaters on Chinese New Year (January 31st) while a worldwide release has yet to be determined. You'll find the two BTS video and the US teaser embedded below.

All this is just the first part of the story. Interesting to see as "Conquering the Demons" left this part out of their story and was the origin story of Tripitaka. They did mention it. The Japanese TV series from the 70s that kids in England/Australia grew up with in the 80s devotes a few episodes to it. There is an animated children's story that also has the same story and is very lush.

tman418

Can't wait to see this in IMAX 3d!

Snoop Lion

Apeshit is a great pun.

Guest

why does Chinese special FX in general look cheaper compared to Japan/Korea? Interesting to watch nonetheless..